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Ford is making a big bet on aluminum with its new 2015 F-150, and it's possible that the decision will hurt the company financially, at least in the short term. After earning a record $8.6 billion in 2013, the Blue Oval does not expect to set another record in 2014. According to Automotive News, that's "largely attributable to F Series," says Bob Shanks, Ford's Chief Financial Officer.

Recargo, Inc., and Via Motors have made an agreement to simplify the charging process for drivers of plug-in hybrid electric trucks and vans. At the Detroit Auto Show this week, the two companies announced an agreement to add Recargo's Plugshare charging station finder in Via's in-dash EV application.

We've said it before, but bears repeating: Pickup trucks are the financial engines of America's automakers. Good thing, then, that the segment is in rude health – in fact, Automotive News is suggesting that pickup truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, even though the segment's volume is still significantly down from where it was before the bottom fell out of the US economy. That's because per-unit profits on full-size trucks are skyrocketing, outpacing the indust

PickupTrucks.com has taken another look at the sales of its favorite vehicle bodystyle as part of an ongoing series. According to registration data from R.L. Polk, the Toyota Tacoma easily took the crown as America's best-selling mid-sized pickup, with 133,477 units rolling into new homes in 2012. For comparison, the second-place Nissan Frontier only saw 50,566 registrations.

Chrysler hasn't exactly been in a leadership role when it comes to, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Disbanding the ENVI group in 2009 sure didn't help. Plug-in vehicle development continued, though, but the company's PHEV's are now facing another obstacle: overheating. Fortunately, this hasn't meant battery fires, but the overheated battery systems mean that Chrysler is temporarily pulling 109 trucks and 23 minivans out of a fleet testing program.

Is Hyundai about to repeat the mistakes of Toyota and Nissan? PickupTrucks.com reports that Hyundai has been showing off a modified Dodge Ram pickup at some consumer clinics to gauge interest in such a product. This wouldn't be the first time the Koreans have looked down this road. A midsize pickup based on the new Kia Sorento had been considered before being killed off two years ago. Tackling the full-size truck market could be an even more perilous endeavor.

To paraphrase – Dodge: "Gosh, the Ram is even better than we thought." That's essentially the explanation given as to why the Ram's maximum towing capacity has been bumped from 9,100 pounds to 10,450 without any apparent hardware changes. Now fully coil-sprung, Chrysler initially said this new setup (as opposed to leaf springs) offers significantly better ride quality, and since research indicated that 80 percent of owners tow just 6,000 pounds or less, joining the fracas of half ton truck

The Volkswagen pickup codenamed "Robust" has been caught testing again, this time in the U.S. They aren't too different from these spy shots, both sets showing that VW is not going for any kind of flash with its newest pickup. At one point, the regular cab version was speculated to have buttresses, but we'd be surprised if there was that much difference between it and the dual cab. This hauler is about nothing other than good, solid -- and probably cheap -- transportation. Even the name "Robust"

Audi went through it in the '80s. Jeep went through it a couple years ago. Other makers have been accused of it, and now it's Toyota's turn: the NHTSA is considering investigating Tacoma pickup trucks from 2004-2008 due to claims of unintended acceleration. In one instance, a man said he turned off his cruise control to exit the freeway, and the truck surged on him, forcing him to dodge a few vehicles -- even as he had his foot on the brake pedal.